Also, the Research Triangle Park announced a big redevelopment project. They purchased a large track of land along I-40 in RTP (between Durham and Raleigh) to be redeveloped.

This new development could one day be home to up to 100,000 (!) jobs. And, at the center of that expansion will be a structure that Research Triangle Foundation CEO Bob Geolas has called "a mix between a Guggenheim, a World’s Fair and the Epcot Center.” “Think about the Sydney Opera House,” York says. “You remember what that looks like.”
The entire red area (and existing blue buildings within it) is the area they purchased and will begin work on plans.

“We can now proceed to complete the environmental process, advance our engineering and make final alignment decisions,” David King, Triangle Transit’s general manager, said Tuesday in a news release. “We will also use this time to strengthen our financial plan and work with our municipal and university partners on land use and housing issues around stations. We appreciate FTA’s vote of confidence in our work on this project.”

The trains would run from UNC Hospitals east along N.C. 54, turning north from Meadowmont toward Patterson Place on U.S. 15-501, then past South Square, Duke University Medical Center, Duke University and downtown Durham to Alston Avenue near N.C. Central University. Planners are considering alternate paths to take the trains through or around the Meadowmont neighborhood.

An environmental impact statement is to be completed by February 2016, followed by three years of engineering work. If state and federal funding were approved, construction would take four or five years, Triangle Transit said.

The development team for the Charter Square high-rise office building project in downtown Raleigh has finalized its purchase of the site and expects to open the building’s doors within 13 months.

Quote:

As a part of the deal, Dominion also has an option to purchase the lot on the north side of the Charter Square site for a future high-rise building project. Charter Square will be situated at the south end of Fayetteville Street, Lenoir Street and Wilmington Street along the west side. It will be built over an existing parking deck and has been designed to achieve LEED Platinum-level certification.

5 floor Church+Main building has broken ground. Residential with 2,700 square feet of retail or office space on the ground floor. Located at 130 East Main in Durham, a previously vacant lot.Source

Glad to see this project is moving forward:

Durham officials negotiating plans for 26-story tower downtown

Quote:

Durham city and county officials have agreed to enter into negotiations for renovation of the downtown Jack Tar Motel and construction of a 26-story building across the street.

Each government has agreed to invest $4 million in the project at the corner of North Corcoran and West Parrish streets, according to the Durham Herald-Sun.

The project is likely to include 100,000 square feet of office space “as well as over 100 units of apartments,” according to Kevin Dick, director of the City of Durham's Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

Durham officials approve plan for affordable housing along transit line

Quote:

Durham city and county officials voted Tuesday on a plan to require at least 15 percent of housing between each transit stop in Durham County along the new Durham-Orange transit line to be affordable housing.

A first-step approval issued Tuesday by the Federal Transit Administration means that Triangle Transit can get rolling on plans for a 17-mile light-rail line to connect UNC-Chapel Hill and East Durham.

I'm excited about the new tower for Durham! It's also good to see more rail transit in the state too. Durham is one of my favorite cities in the state.

The Hill Building looks so much better without the SunTrust sign. The hotel developers seem to be doing a great job with the renovation.

I'm working on a SkyHouse diagram right now and it looks good. I'm adding a sun reflection to the glass, to show the setbacks and add more depth. I should have it uploaded soon. I would like to start on a diagram for Durham's courthouse soon.

I'm working on a SkyHouse diagram right now and it looks good. I'm adding a sun reflection to the glass, to show the setbacks and add more depth. I should have it uploaded soon. I would like to start on a diagram for Durham's courthouse soon.

You can use the same diagram in like a dozen cities . Now Charlotte's Skyhouse has broken ground too. New diagrams would be cool; NC cities are lacking many newer buildings; Raleigh the new Wake County Justice Center, Captrust building, and the SECU building. Charlotte is missing Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Aloft, Ritz-Carlton, Catalyst, 440 South Church (Ally Bank), and Childress Klein apartments.

I thought about doing that for both Raleigh and Charlotte, until I realized... they do have different designs. I originally used Atlanta's to make the model of Raleigh's, only to discover the crown was different. There are at least four different crowns used in the designs. It's more if you count roof color, which I've seen vary from green to blue. Raleigh's is the only one I've seen with it's crown design? The base is also different. I've seen at least three or four different base designs. I've also seen these buildings in two or three different heights, along with slightly different colors. I make these as 3D models, creating a model of the city's skyline, which is fun to play with. There are some missing buildings and renovated buildings that do need updated diagrams too. It took weeks to complete SkyHouse and that is the problem with 3D models. That and high polygon counts. I have uploaded it and it's pending right now. It could be in the diagrams later today?

Matthew, a really kind of general question, will Raleigh-Durham be the only other metro area outside of Charlotte to run a light rail? I haven't followed North Carolina very closely when it comes to transit.

Winston-Salem has talked about light rail and the regional transit authority bought tracks to prevent IQ District developers from removing them. You can see a light rail station in the central district of the IQ in downtown Winston-Salem and also in Silas Pointe's site plan, which includes a light rail to bus transfer station. It's also worth noting the city is ready to start on Union Station, which is planned as Winston-Salem's hub for all rail transit (it's in both bond packages). However, Winston-Salem is more focused on the streetcar right now and completing it before the expressway is closed for two years. Winston-Salem's ballpark is also in need of the streetcar, since it doesn't have enough parking. They expected baseball fans to walk from neighboring residences or bike there, reducing the need for parking, and were surprised to find most of their fans are from outside Forsyth County. I'm guessing the first light rail line in Winston-Salem will be to the two medical centers? It's actually an interesting line, because they are a building bike and pedestrian lanes beside the rails right now for about a mile or two through downtown. Councilman Dan Besse is leading the rail efforts and he held a meeting around Ardmore to discuss light rail to the medical centers in Winston-Salem a few years ago.

Matthew, a really kind of general question, will Raleigh-Durham be the only other metro area outside of Charlotte to run a light rail? I haven't followed North Carolina very closely when it comes to transit.

Like Matthew said, Winston-Salem is focusing on streetcar right now. The light rail plan approved right now will connect Chapel Hill and Durham. Voters approved tax funded for the line in Orange and Durham counties. Wake county (Raleigh) has put off light rail for a while right now, though there is a new Union Station planned and partially funded that will serve as the station for Amtrak, light rail, and commuter rail. I could see the planned commuter rail line being put in place between Durham and Raleigh before Raleigh gets light rail, but that's just my guess.

If you don't know, Charlotte has started construction on their second light rail line (really a continuation of the first line to the other side of the city) as well as the first phase of their streetcar line. Their commuter rail line was supposed to be next but the county north of Charlotte balked at funding so the light rail extension is going ahead.

The L building: residential over 2 floors of retail and office space. Will cover up this parking deck (yay)

Citrix headquarters construction seen from downtown:

The parking deck is an eyesore, but I think they are covering it in a faux brick which will help a little. There's been good discussion on the issue here, it has to do with them not wanting to wait for the city to except them from parking requirements.